Last week I went to file my VISA application. When I arrived in Chinatown, Los Angeles, at the Consulate, I took my number from the machine, which is identical to the ones they use at the deli section of busy grocery stores so that nobody gets their sliced provolone before they should. I was a little depressed to take number 463, especially because I saw that they were on number 330, and that they closed in an hour. Conveniently, they have hours like banks 9-3 and take both American and Chinese holidays, like all comparably bureaucratic institutions. Anyway, I was a little worried my trip down the 101 would have to be made again on another day. However, as I sat down one of the workers finished on her current customer and started announcing 331, 332, 333, in fairly rapid succession. She got to about 338 before someone stepped up. From my experience sitting there from 330 to 463, only about one in 7 or 8 numbers actually had a person linked with it. I got through and filed my application in half an hour....
This whole "population crisis" in China? It's really just that they can't learn to take one number apiece at the deli counter.
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